Current antiproton production techniques rely on high energy collisions between beam particles and target nuclei to produce particle and antiparticle pairs, but inherently low production and capture efficiencies make these techniques inadequate for the cost-effective production of antimatter for space propulsion and other commercial applications. Based on Dirac's theory of the vacuum field, an innovative antimatter production technique is proposed in which particle-antiparticle pairs are created at the boundary of a steep potential step formed by the suppression of local vacuum fields. A quantum mechanical analysis of spin-1/2 particle tunneling and reflection from a potential barrier is presented which shows that matter particles will be reflected from the potential step while antimatter particles continue through the potential barrier, where they can subsequently be collected and stored for future use. Techniques for generating the required potential barrier are discussed, and an experimental Phase I research program is outlined that will demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed technique for antiparticle production. If successful, the proposed research will lead to the development of an efficient, cost- effective method to generate antimatter in sufficient quantities for commercial and space exploration activities.
